Online OPD Model Takes Off In India

Under the Digital India initiative Online Registration System (ORS), a web portal was launched exclusively for the purpose of making bookings for online OPD. Online Registration System (ORS) is a web portal launched by the Ministry of Information and Technology as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India initiative. Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital has booked more than 3,000 appointments since the launch of the portal. National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience (NIMHANS), Bangalore too has registered significant number of online bookings. AIIMS also launched the online verification system for the BPL patients who are exempted from paying any charges. Waiting time at AIIMS New Delhi has been reduced to the next day for almost every department except for three. Effectiveness of the online OPD can be gauged by the fact that waiting time has been drastically reduced for ENT the waiting period has now been reduced to a month earlier on an average 6 months waiting time was observed. Biggest criticism of Online OPD has been that those who can’t read how would they be able to register for the same. Website used for online appointments website-health.delhigovt.nic.in

Lok Nayak, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospitals Online appointment system reduces waiting period in AIIMS, but leaves out some patients. The Online Registration System (ORS), a web portal launched as part of PM's Digital India initiative, has seen over 46,000 online bookings since May, 2015.

On January 16 Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the audience at the launch of 'Start-up India' initiative emphasized the role of technology in bridging barriers, saying that technology ought to be used for delivering the best services in health and education to people at far off places ie for reaching those who would otherwise be deprived of opportunity. He laid stress on the fact that technology is to be used for the larger good of society.

The Online Registration System (ORS), a web portal launched by the Ministry of Information and Technology as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India initiative, has seen over 46,000 online bookings since May in the five hospitals that are currently registered with it. Not surprisingly the majority of patients coming through online bookings have sought appointments in AIIMS.

Among other hospitals in Delhi, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital has booked 3,000 appointments since the portal was launched. Most appointments are for doctors specializing in ENT, orthopedics and cardiology. In the Sports Injury Centre, the only units of Safdarjung hospital on the portal, close to 1,300 online appointments have been made, a majority of them in arthroscopy and joint disorders.

National Informatics Centre (NIC) launched the computerized appointment system at AIIMS as a pilot project in 2014. At AIIMS, the departments of medicine, orthopedics and the R P Centre for Opthalmology and Neurology are receiving the highest number of appointments since its inception on May 7. AIIMS which had initially reserved a certain number of patient slots in OPD for online appointments has as of now made all OPD bookings opened up for online appointments.

In order to encourage people to come with prior appointments even walk-in patients for OPD appointments are given appointments through the online system.

People with appointments on an average spend less than two hours at the hospital compared to those without appointments who on an average wait for 4-5 hours. Delhi government's online OPD registration system enables patients to fix appointments for OPD consultation with a total of 24 government hospitals in advance.